First Solar's CdTe PV technology creates clean, affordable electricity.  


First Solar's CdTe PV:


• CdTe Photovoltaics

• Collection & Recycling Program

• "Emissions from Photovoltaic Life Cycles," First Solar Abstract

Other Information:


• "Emissions from Photovoltaic Life Cycles" (Environmental Science & Technology)

• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

• Brookhaven National Lab

• Columbia University, Center for Life Cycle Assessment

• George Washington University's Institute for the Analysis of Solar Energy

CLEAN

  All photovoltaic (PV) technologies have significant environmental benefits compared to traditional fossil-fuel electricity generating technologies. What are the benefits of First Solar's cadmium telluride (CdTe) PV compared to other PV technologies?
•   CdTe PV technology has the smallest carbon footprint of current PV technologies when measured on a life cycle basis.
•   First Solar modules have the lowest energy payback of any current PV technologies because less energy is required for module production.
•   On a life cycle basis, at least 89-98% of the air emissions associated with electricity generation could be prevented if electricity from First Solar's CdTe modules displaced electricity from the grid.
•   First Solar's CdTe modules result in lower cadmium emissions than other current PV technologies when measured on a life cycle basis because less energy is required for module production.
•   Using CdTe in PV modules converts cadmium, a waste byproduct of zinc refining, into the stable compound of CdTe where it is safely sequestered for the 25+ year lifetime of the module.
•   First Solar offers the solar industry's first and only comprehensive pre-funded module collection and recycling program, ensuring that the solutions to climate change and energy security today don't become a waste management challenge for future generations.

AFFORDABLE

  First Solar's CdTe technology is uniquely capable of producing high-volume, low-cost solar modules, driving solar to be a real economic solution to climate change and energy independence. How is CdTe PV different from other PV technologies?
•   Superior light absorption properties that result in higher output compared to traditional silicon modules, under cloudy and diffuse light conditions such as dawn and dusk.
•   A low-temperature coefficient that results in better performance compared to traditional silicon modules at higher temperatures.
•   Enhanced suitability for high-volume, low-cost module production.